Just Be Yourself
by Katrina S. Forest
Summary: SM Crossover. Miaka is worried about Nuriko still acting like a girl, while Usagi frets about Haruka still playing out a guy. The two girls devise the perfect solution: Set their friends up on a blind date... with each other!
1. Chapter 1

**Just Be Yourself by Katrina Kadabra**__

_Summary: Miaka is worried about Nuriko still acting like a girl, & wants to think of a way to remedy it. Meanwhile Usagi frets about Haruka still playing out a guy. The two girls devise the perfect solution. Set their friends up on a blind date... with each other!___

_Rating: PG___

_Notes: To get this story to work, I had to get a lot of the cast to act rather out of character, though I tried not to overdo it TOO much. I also have no plausible explanation for why the Suzaku Seven suddenly appeared in modern-day Tokyo, it just kind of... um, happened. So now that I have stretched the believability of this story to its absolute limits, please enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 1 

Miaka Yuuki sat disheartened at the Crown fruit parlor, blowing bubbles into her strawberry soda. Yui had said over the phone that she'd be here momentarily, even though it had already been fifteen minutes. That girl always seemed to be busy, Miaka thought. But right now there were more pressing things on Miaka's mind. 

"Hey, Miaka!" said Yui as she finally walked in. "I got your call, sorry I'm lat..." 

"Yui, what do you think I should do?" Miaka asked suddenly. Yui sweatdropped. 

"Do? Do about what?" she asked, guessing now that Miaka had asked her to come more for advice than her company. 

"Nuriko," Miaka sighed. "Honestly, I mean..." She paused for a moment. "Nuriko's a really nice guy and everything, but I'm worried about him. Ever since he came to this world, he's still doing the cross-dressing thing. I thought he was over that." 

"Switching from ancient China to modern Japan can have its effect on people," said Yui. "So Nuriko still cross-dresses. It could be worse." 

"I know, but..." Miaka protested. "Don't you think it's a little immature? Every time we go by a dress shop, he starts squealing like a little kid. It's time he got over this acting-like-a-girl phase of his, you know?" 

"I suppose..." Yui sighed. "But what can you do? Nuriko isn't very likely to change on a whim you know." 

"That's what I've been thinking about," Miaka replied, a kind of sly and mischievous glint to her eyes. "It's true that Nuriko wouldn't change on his own... there would have to be something motivating him to change, or rather someone." 

"Someone?" Yui asked, rather unimpressed. "What are you scheming now, Miaka?" 

"Simple," Miaka said. "We set Nuriko out on a date!" 

While Miaka spilled her brilliant plan to Yui, two girls with long yellow hair, one in a large red bow and the other in some kind of strange two-dumpling hairstyle walked into the parlor and took a seat in the table behind Miaka and Yui. 

"Geez, I don't know what to do!" one of them said. 

"Don't worry, Usagi! You'll think of something," the other girl assured her. 

"I guess you're right, Minako," Usagi sighed. "And I don't want to sound like Haruka's not a great person as she is. But we're in high school now! She needs to stop acting like a boy all the time." 

"I agree with you," Minako said with a nod. "I think it shows a girl's lack of confidence in herself when she feels like she has to dress like a guy." 

As Usagi sat deep in thought, a waitress came over to take their orders, and then walked over to Yui and Miaka's table to check and make sure everything was alright. Both groups were so caught up in pondering their dilemmas, neither one noticed the other sitting next to them. 

"I've got it!" Usagi exclaimed with a snap of her fingers. "Why don't we set Haruka up on a date with a really hot guy? Someone she couldn't resist, and then she'd start acting like a girl on her own!" 

"I'm thinking if I set Nuriko up on a date with a really hot girl," Miaka went on behind her. "He'll want to impress her and then he'll have to start acting like a guy." 

"The guy for Haruka would have to be someone very masculine, strong and attractive, a great personality..." 

"What I have in mind is someone who's really feminine. You know, gentle, delicate, and a pleasant character." 

"I'm thinking dark eyes and dark hair..." 

"Maybe a blonde would do the trick. A blonde with blue eyes..." 

"He'd have to be strong..." 

"She should be tall..." 

At that moment, Usagi paused, wondering why it sounded like there was a distinct echo in this room. She turned around and upon seeing Miaka and Yui sitting there behind her, her eyes lit up like stars. 

"Miaka!" she squealed excitedly. 

"Usagi!" Miaka shrieked back. Yui sweatdropped and pulled out her English dictionary, pretending to not know this crazy person sitting next to her. 

"Who's childish, remind me again?" she asked. 

"What?" Usagi inquired. Miaka elbowed Yui and then turned her attention back to Usagi. 

"Say, I see you hanging out with that group of girls a lot," she said. "Any of them interested in dating, by chance?" 

"Huh?" 

"See I have this friend," Miaka went on. "He's really strong, with dark hair and kind eyes. He'd really like to go an a date with an attractive girl. But he's shy, you see, so I figured maybe I could set his up with someone." 

"Like a blind date?" Usagi asked excitedly. She tried to calm herself down. "Well, it just so happens," she said casually. "That one of my friends is looking to go out to. She's got short blonde hair, with blue eyes. And she's really attractive..." 

"REALLY attractive," Minako sighed. 

"And very feminine," Usagi finished. Minako cocked her head. Did she hear wrong? 

"That's perfect!" said Miaka, with a snap of her fingers. "My friend's really masculine, so he'd love to go out with her." Yui looked at Miaka like she had five heads. 

"Then it's settled!" said Usagi excitedly, as she scratched down Haruka's name and phone number on a napkin and handed the information over to Miaka. "This is her name and number. She lives at the Infinity Apartments. She'll meet your friend for a date this Friday night at 7." 

"Great!" said Miaka, taking the napkin in hand. "Thanks a lot, Usagi, you're a lifesaver!" 

"No problem. But where should we have them go?" 

"Um, I dunno. I think there's a festival going on this weekend." 

"Nah, too many people. They need some alone time." 

Miaka thought for a moment. "Well, why don't we just make them dinner reservations and let them go on the own after that?" 

"Perfect!" Usagi squealed. "That's just perfect!" 


	2. Chapter 2

**Just Be Yourself by Katrina Kadabra**__

_Summary: Miaka is worried about Nuriko still acting like a girl, & wants to think of a way to remedy it. Meanwhile Usagi frets about Haruka still playing out a guy. The two girls devise the perfect solution. Set their friends up on a blind date... with each other!___

_Rating: PG___

_Notes: To get this story to work, I had to get a lot of the cast to act rather out of character, though I tried not to overdo it TOO much. I also have no plausible explanation for why the Suzaku Seven suddenly appeared in modern-day Tokyo, it just kind of... um, happened. So now that I have stretched the believability of this story to its absolute limits, please enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 2 

"What!" Haruka exclaimed, her voice nearly knocking Usagi off her feet. "Odango, what the heck do you mean you got me a date?" Usagi had decided it was best to tell Haruka about her little plan as soon as possible, so the next day after her talk with Miaka, Usagi was over at Haruka and Michiru's apartment sharing the good news. Only, unlike most other times, Haruka didn't seem too thrilled to have her there. 

"Calm down, Haruka," whispered Michiru. 

"Like I said, I got you a date," Usagi repeated happily. "His name is Nuriko, and he's a really handsome guy, so you'll want to make sure you dress really pretty, if you know what I mean..." She gave Haruka a mischievous wink. "He'll be here at 7 on Friday to pick you up." 

"But..." Haruka stuttered, looking desperately towards Michiru as if to say, _Tell her I don't want to do this._ But Michiru only smiled. 

"Thank you, Usagi," she said. "I'm sure Haruka appreciates it." Haruka's jaw dropped. And with that, Michiru showed Usagi out the door. 

"Michiru..." Haruka whined the moment Usagi was gone. "What did you have to go and do that for?" 

"Usagi means well," Michiru said. "And I think she worked hard to try and set this up. I couldn't make her feel bad." 

"Do you want me to do it for you?" 

"Haruka!" 

"Sorry..." Haruka let out a long sigh. It looked like she was stuck with this ridiculous date on Friday, whether she wanted to be or not. 

* * * * * 

"A date? Miaka, are you sure about this?" Nuriko looked skeptically at his friend, who had brought Tamahome with her to share the good news about Nuriko's future love life. 

"Sure I'm sure about this," said Miaka with a bright smile. "She's a really beautiful girl, I think you'll like her a lot." 

"Not more beautiful than me," Nuriko thought to himself, but decided not to say it out loud. 

"You're going to meet her at her apartment this Friday at 7," Miaka went on, handing the address over to Nuriko, who looked it over doubtfully. 

"Haruka?" he asked, reading the name aloud. "Doesn't that mean distant or something like that?" 

"Yup," Miaka nodded. "Now remember, she's a really high-class kind of girl, so you can't be doing the cross-dressing thing. You going to need to dress, look, and act like a man..." Miaka began to pace about the room, thinking about just how she was going to accomplish this. 

"Nuriko... look like a man?" Tamahome thought to himself. "Yeah, that'll be the day." 

"Hey, I've got it!" said Miaka with a snap of her fingers. "Tamahome can help you out!" 

"Me?" Tamahome exclaimed. 

"Alright!" said Nuriko, slapping his hands together. "Come on, Tamahome, you tell me all about how you impress the ladies." Tamahome sweatdropped. This wasn't going to be easy. 

While Tamahome worked his best to train Nuriko in the ways of macho-ness, Michiru was trying just as hard to pass some of her female advice onto Haruka, right up until the night of her big date. 

"Okay, now let me hear you giggle," she said, taking one step back to look at Haruka's outfit for the evening. "All girls giggle at least once on a first date. Like this..." Michiru let out a bubbly little laugh that was nothing short of delightful and charming. Haruka tried to do the same, but from the way Michiru's face fell, she guessed it didn't come out quite as good. 

"Oh no, you sound like you're dying," Michiru said. She sighed and massaged her forehead. "Okay, forget the giggle, just..." Before the conversation could go any further, there was a knock at the door. 

"Okay, I'll get it," Michiru said. "Don't forget everything I told you Haruka. Just remember, try to act feminine." 

"Easy for you to say," Haruka muttered gripping her arm nervously. Michiru walked up and opened the door to see Tamahome standing there alongside a young man with braided purple hair who was nervously wringing his hands. 

"You must be Nuriko," Michiru said pleasantly. 

"Yes... and you're Haruka?" Nuriko asked. He thought the others all said his date was a blonde. The girl at the door giggled. 

"No, I'm her roommate, Michiru. Won't you come in?" Michiru stepped to the side, showing the two men into the main room, where Haruka sat, trying to smooth her dress out over her legs. Michiru cleared her throat and Haruka jumped up like a soldier to attention. 

"This is Haruka," Michiru said to Nuriko. 

"Hey," Nuriko said, trying to force a smile. 

"Hi," Haruka replied. The silence in the room was exasperating. 

"Well, you two love birds better get on your way," said Tamahome. 

"Right," they both muttered. 

As they walked out to the car, Haruka was about to get into the driver's side until she remembered. "Right. I'm supposed to be the passenger. And he's supposed to open the door for me. Sheesh! Why do girls have to act so helpless?" Nevertheless, Haruka stood by the passenger door, waiting patiently for Nuriko to come around and open it for her. 

Nuriko was a bit behind, walking nervously towards the vehicle, trying to remember everything it was Miaka taught him. Stay to the road, stop when the light turned red, use the turn signal, and what else...?" 

"A-hem!" Nuriko glanced up to see Haruka standing next to the door on the other side. 

"Oh right, sorry!" he exclaimed. Haruka rolled her eyes as he opened the door and she stepped in. As if she wanted to be helped out in the first place. 

"Well, let's get going," said Nuriko cheerfully, getting in the other side. He put the key into ignition, started the engine, and pressed the gas, but nothing happened. 

"Aren't you going to put the car in drive?" Haruka asked. 

"Right," Nuriko muttered. "Sheesh," he thought to himself. "I know she's a girl and everything, but at least she could work this machine better than me..." 

The drive to dinner was unusual to say the least. Haruka kept fingering the purse in her hands, not quite sure what else to do with them when they weren't on a steering wheel She also had to remind Nuriko about three separate times on basic rules on driving, to the point where she began to wonder where this guy got his driver's license. If only she knew.   
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Just Be Yourself by Katrina Kadabra**

_Summary: Miaka is worried about Nuriko still acting like a girl, & wants to think of a way to remedy it. Meanwhile Usagi frets about Haruka still playing out a guy. The two girls devise the perfect solution. Set their friends up on a blind date... with each other!_

_Rating: PG_

* * *

Chapter 3   


The first stop for the evening was dinner. As the couple at last pulled into the restaurant parking lot, Nuriko was much relieved to have this fiasco over with. He walked over to open the door for Haruka, when the girl's eyes caught a sharp-looking blue sports car in the spot across from them. 

"Whoa, check that baby out!" she said as she stepped out. Nuriko glanced up, only he didn't see the car. 

"Aw, you're right. What a little cutie!" he exclaimed as a woman and her toddler walked past. 

"Cutie?" Haruka thought to herself, but decided not to bother to ask any questions. She wasn't supposed to be looking at cars now anyway. 

The dinner table conversation was absolutely non-existent. He had to say something. What would this girl think of him if he just kept silent the whole time. Or worse, when he had to go back and admit to Miaka that the whole thing was a disaster, although it seemed to be shaping into just that. Nuriko took a deep breath. He didn't want to let Miaka down, he had to do his best to make this work. A real man always takes charge of the situation. 

"So do you have any hobbies?" Nuriko asked. That should get a conversation going. Haruka bit her lip. 

"Oh, I uh..." she tried to casually slip in her purse, but the maneuver was a bit clumsy to say the least. The bag was so narrow, Haruka almost got her hand caught in it. But, she did manage to pull out the little slip of paper onto which Michiru had jotted down some notes, just in case Haruka forgot anything. 

"I like... sewing, cooking, cleaning..." 

"You like cooking?" Nuriko asked excitedly. "Oh, I know the best recipe for..." he caught himself. "Hot dogs," he finished quickly and turned to his menu. He certainly was making a mess of things. He wondered he could at least order dinner right. Nuriko sighed and started rubbing his wrist again. 

"Let's see… what looks good tonight?" he pondered out loud. Then, glancing at the beverages, he exclaimed, "Geez! The price of tea is just as expensive here as it is in China." 

Haruka glanced up skeptically at her date. 

"You went to China?" she asked. Nuriko sweatdrop. 

"Yeah. I actually lived there for a while," he said. 

"Oh." _Is that where you learned to drive?_ Haruka thought to herself, but out of politeness she did not say it outloud. 

Meanwhile, a few TV monitors sat above their heads, showing whatever happened to be on. As luck would have it, it was the motocross race Haruka had wanted to see so badly tonight. So while Nuriko tried time and time again to get a conversation going, Haruka answered in as few words as possible, her eyes still fixed on the little screen above them. 

"You going to school?" 

"Yup." 

"Do you enjoy it?" 

"I guess." 

"Do you play any instruments?" 

"Piano." 

"Really? What's that like?" 

"Okay." 

"Do anything else after school?" 

Suddenly, Haruka slapped her fist down on the table. "Lean, you idiot!" Haruka exclaimed. "You want to get around that turn or don't you?" 

"Are you okay?" Nuriko asked, sweatdropping. 

"Opps." Haruka sat herself politely back down and smoothed out her skirt. They just had to play that race here tonight; even watching one always brought out her competitive edge. As she sat trying to figure how to cover for this disaster, she noticed something slip out of Nuriko's pocket and onto the table. Something that looked like a snapshot of that brown-haired girl Usagi hung out with and a group of several other people, one of which might have been Nuriko, but Haruka wasn't quite sure. 

"What's that?" she wanted to know. 

"Oh, this?" Nuriko asked, picking the picture up. Suddenly his mind blanked on what it was Miaka called these strange things from her world. "It's a..." The word was on the tip of his tongue. "Pho-to-graph. It's a photograph." Nuriko nodded proudly at his accomplishment, but his date seemed rather unimpressed. 

"I can tell that," she said. "Who's it of?" 

"Oh," Nuriko sweatdropped a bit. All that fuss for nothing. He held over the photo to Haruka. "It's of me and my friends." 

"This is pretty nice," Haruka replied as she looked it over. "I have one like that too." She went into her wallet and found the picture that Minako had taken of the group of them in their school uniforms. It was only after she placed it Nuriko's hand did she realize her mistake. 

"Is that a boy's uniform?" Nuriko asked, pointed to Haruka in the picture. Haruka sweatdropped and glanced at the photo. 

"Um, no. I mean, yes. I mean... that's not me," she blurted out. Nuriko squinted at the picture. 

"Sure looks like you," he said. "And there's your roommate, what's her name, Michiko?" 

"Michiru," Haruka replied, snatching the picture back, as her face turned bright red. This whole thing was really starting to annoy her and she was all but tired of having to play the helpless damsel. Besides, she kind of liked that outfit. It was much more comfortable than the tacky skirts the girls had to wear. Haruka finally decided it was time to get even. "So what if it is me?" she asked. "You looked pretty girly in that picture you showed me, I'm surprised you weren't wearing women's clothing." Now Nuriko's face turned red 

"I'll have you know I look quite lovely in women's clothing!" he said, pounding his fist on the table and causing it to crack. Wincing, he glanced down at the damage he'd done and gripped his wrist nervously for at least the fourth time that night. This was definitely not good.   



	4. Chapter 4

**Just Be Yourself by Katrina Kadabra**

_Summary: Miaka is worried about Nuriko still acting like a girl, & wants to think of a way to remedy it. Meanwhile Usagi frets about Haruka still playing out a guy. The two girls devise the perfect solution. Set their friends up on a blind date... with each other!_

_Rating: PG_

* * *

Chapter 4   


"Well," said Haruka, sweatdropping as she looked at the busted table. "I never expected _that_." 

"Yeah, um," said Nuriko nervously. "I'm a... a bit stronger than most people think." 

"I meant what you just said," Haruka replied. "What's this about you wearing women's clothing?" 

Nuriko's face turned a curious shade of scarlet. "I, uh..." he stuttered. Usually, Nuriko wasn't bad for making excuses on the spur of the moment, but for this, he wasn't quite sure how to handle it. And now his date across the table started giggling profusely, which only made Nuriko feel worse. 

"Well, you don't have to find it that funny," he muttered. Haruka shook her head. 

"It's not that," she said, reaching for her wallet and pulling out her school ID. "Here, take a look." Nuriko took the ID and looked it over. Sure enough, it was Haruka, just as she appeared in the photo he saw earlier. 

"Thought this wasn't you," Nuriko teased, handing the card back. 

"No," said Haruka, pointing down to the frilly dress she was wearing. "_This_ isn't me." 

Nuriko laughed. "I dunno, I think the dress looks rather nice on you." 

"Even the dress wouldn't be so bad, but these shoes," she complained. "They're inhuman!" 

"They make you look taller," Nuriko pointed out. 

"I'm a foot above everyone as it is. Why do I need to be taller?" 

"Excuse me, are you read to order yet?" came an impatient voice behind them. Nuriko and Haruka both glanced behind them to see a waiter tapping his foot loudly on the restaurant floor. Haruka clumsily picked up her menu, as the thought occurred to her that she never actually decided on what she wanted to order yet. 

"What's the... Hawaiian delicacy?" 

"It's one of our specials this evening. Three slices of freshly baked glazed ham, accompanied by chopped pineapple, guava, and three halved lychees." 

Haruka looked at the waiter like he might as well have said it was accompanied by three cockroaches. "What the heck is a lyche?" she asked. 

"It's a fruit." 

"Okay, fine, um... I'll have that." 

"Fine." The waiter eagerly took Haruka's menu from her before she got the chance to change her mind. "And for the gentleman?" 

"I'll have the uh..." Nuriko carefully ran his finger over the strange words in the menu. He would get it right this time. "…the …pep-per-oh-ni-peet-zah." 

After the rather refreshing meal, Haruka and Nuriko walked arm and arm outside the restaurant. It was funny, but suddenly Haruka noticed she felt a lot more comfortable around this guy. Maybe it was because she wasn't so nervous about having to act just a certain way. Or maybe it was the way he opened himself to her. In either case, the effect seemed to be mutual. At least he wasn't rubbing his wrist so much now like he seemed to have a fetish with before. 

"So where do you want to go?" Nuriko asked. 

"Honesty?" Haruka asked with a smile. "I'd like to do some clothes shopping." 

"You read my mind." 

When Haruka said clothes shopping, she had, of course, had in mind something like a department store. And they did go to one of those too. Haruka got herself a couple new shirts, and Nuriko found some relatively cheap jewelry that he just "had" to get. It was afterwards when they were walking out of the department store and Nuriko spotted the costume shop on the other side of the mall that things got interesting. 

"Is that another clothing store?" he asked anxiously. 

"Sorta," Haruka explained. "But it's not exactly..." 

"Great! Let's go there!" 

Before long, Nuriko found himself in what appeared to him to be shopping paradise. Clothing in this world was just so incredibly amazing, he couldn't get enough of it. And as embarrassed as Haruka seemed at first to be there, soon she was joining in the fun as well. 

"Is this too much?" she asked, trying on a Mexican sobrero. 

"Not at all," Nuriko giggled, showing a pair of plastic fairy wings on his back. "How about this?" 

"Maybe... just a tad." 

Arms now packed with more bags, Haruka with a pirate costume she thought she could use for Halloween, and Nuriko with enough black leather to keep the Starlights happy for months, the two them next walked past a music store. 

The store window was filled with all sorts of different instruments, along with several on display outside. Nuriko's eyes quickly caught an electronic keyboard and he sat his bags to the side. 

"Hey," he said, nudging Haruka. "Isn't that the instrument you said you played?" Haruka sat her belongings next to Nuriko's and glanced over at the machine. 

"Sorta," she said. "I prefer a grand piano, but I can play keyboard too." 

"Feel free to try out anything you like," the storekeeper said, standing in the doorway. Haruka glanced at Nuriko, and unable to resist the urge to show off, she stood over the keyboard, glanced over the selection on instruments, finally deciding on the regular piano. Her skilled fingers began to move gracefully across the keyboard, letting off an enchanting melody. That was, until all of a sudden the sound went from a delicate piano to a rather obnoxious sounding accordion. Haruka's hands jumped back off the keys. 

"What the heck?" she exclaimed. 

"You like it?" the storekeeper asked with a smile. "It's our newest model, it changes instruments as you play." The shopkeeper seemed to think this was just about the coolest thing in the world, but Haruka thought otherwise. 

"That's um… unusual," she admitted, unsure of what else to say. 

"Hey, let me try it," said Nuriko, moving to Haruka's side. He wasn't nearly as skilled as his date was, but with the instruments changing back and forth, it was kind of hard to tell. 

After the crash course in unusual keyboard playing, the couple decided to go to a park. The sun was starting to set now and the evening stars were just beginning to show. 

"I guess we should head home," Haruka sighed. 

"Yeah," said Nuriko. "I guess so." 

It was a clear night; one could see the stars and the celestial bodies spread out like a movie screen before them. Nuriko smiled; he knew the constellations of both his beloved friends and former enemies by heart. His eyes followed them across the display as he pointed out the name of each one. "Tamahome, Hotohori, Nuriko, Chichiri, Tasuki, Chiriko and Mitsukake. Amiboshi, Suboshi, Nakago, Soi, Tomo, Ashitare and Miboshi." 

"You know the Chinese constellations?" Haruka asked. 

"Yeah," Nuriko replied. "I guess you could call it a pastime of mine." Then as long as he had gone that far, Nuriko figured he might as well point out the Genbu and Byakko constellations as well. "And there's Hatsui, Iname, Uruki, Tomite, Namame, Hikitsu and Urumiya in the north. Then Tatara, Subaru, Tomite, Kagasuki, Amefuri, Kokie, and Toroki in the west." 

"That must have taken forever to memorize," sighed Haruka. 

"Not really," Nuriko replied. "Not when it's something you love." 

At the word 'love,' Nuriko's face became bright red, and he quickly cleared his throat in an attempt to cover it up. 

"Where did you say you lived?" he asked. 

"Right here," said Haruka, pulling the car up to the side of the road and turning off the motor. So this was it. Their date was over. 

"Hey," said Nuriko. "What's that on your driveway?" 

"What's what?" Haruka asked. She looked up to see there was something sitting there in the driveway, but she couldn't tell what. The two got out of the car to go look it over. Haruka was shocked when she saw what it was. A bouquet of flowers, just sitting there. Right in the middle of her driveway. Nuriko picked up the bouquet and looked it over. The flowers were perfectly fresh. There was seven of them, all different colors, with no tag or any indication as to where they came from. 

"Maybe Michiru left them?" Haruka suggested. "She said she needed to buy some to brighten up the kitchen." 

"Does she usually leave flowers she buys for the kitchen on the driveway?" 

"No, I guess not. I dunno then." 

Nuriko shrugged and handed the flowers over to Haruka. 

"For you," he said. Haruka's face turned bright red. Not far away, the city clock struck the late hour, reminding the couple it was time to part. Haruka stood gripping the door handle. It just figured, she had spent all this time griping about how she didn't want to go on this stupid date, and now she didn't want to leave. And apparently neither did Nuriko. With a graceful bow, he took Haruka's hand in his own. 

"Good night, my lady," he said, leaning down to kiss her hand. Only Haruka got to him first. She leaned forward and gave Nuriko a strong kiss on the cheek, slowly working her way over to his lips. Upon pulling away, Haruka swore her face must have been scarlet with embarrassment. 

"I'm sorry," she said. "Really. I usually don't do stuff like that, I..." 

"It's okay," said Nuriko smiling. "Don't be so afraid. I'll see you another time then, okay?" 

"Okay," said Haruka. "Good night, Nuriko." 

"Good night." 

* * *

_AN: So, what'd you guys think? Wierd? I started this a while ago and ended up finishing it for a fanfiction challenge, which actually helped me get some ideas for places Haruka and Nuriko would go. Anyways, I guess they're not the most likely couple, but I thought it was cute nonetheless. Thanks for reading! -Katrina_   
  
  



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